Page 67 of Besties
“Are as human as anyone else. Money can change a person we thought we knew into someone totally different.” He reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze. “Gary said that CrossBow occasionally sends out teams for free, if the need is great and the people are unable to afford their services. I explained we could afford it, but he’d already had Michael looking into our financials and backgrounds. While he’s certain we could afford it, he didn’t think we needed to. Their backer, Dr. Malone, said he’d pay for it out of his pocket because what we do is that important. Gary said no, Teaching Time qualified for their services.” He snickered. “Michael said it was a lot of fun to see them argue over who was going to be the one to help us.”
“You have so many amazing people in your corner.”
He leaned in and brushed a kiss over my lips. “As long as I have you, I’m good.”
There was a silence then, but it wasn’t uncomfortable at all. Just like with the many years Richie and I had spent together, we could be quiet and still know the other was there if we needed them. We just fit.
Fit.
Fit.
Fuck.
“Richie?”
“Hm?”
“I think I might have an idea. Would Dr. Malone be able to help us with something?”
“I’m not sure. We didn’t exchange phone numbers, but I can call Michael if necessary. What’s up?”
“I think I know how to pull all this together and find out who’s behind it.
“Seriously?” he asked, his excitement obvious.
The plan was forming in my head, but it would take others to make it work. God, I hoped we could pull this off, because I was ready to move on with our lives.
Chapter18
“I don’t usually FaceTime,”Dr. Josh Malone said. “Too busy and… um….” He peered over his glasses. “What were we talking about?”
He was adorable. His red hair was slicked with some kind of… wait. “Is that gel in your hair?” I blurted out, because I didn’t think it was, but I wouldn’t guess at what it could possibly be.
He reached up and swiped a hand over his head. “Damn it.” He pushed his chair back, almost knocking it over, and hurried for the sink, where he grabbed a bunch of paper towels, then wetted it and scrubbed it over his head. When he came back, his face displayed a goodly amount of unhappiness.
“I showered this morning, but forgot to rinse the shampoo off. Sorry about that.” He huffed as he shot an annoyed look at someone in the room with him. “And of course, no one told me.”
“I did tell you, Wheels. You simply forgot.”
He turned and scowled at someone off-camera. When a man stepped into view, I drew in a sharp breath. This guy was big, beefy, and stunningly good-looking. Not as sexy as Richie, of course, but still….
“Dixon Meeks, this is… uh….” He closed his eyes, rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, and let loose with a deep sigh before peering at the screen once more. “I’m sorry, what were your names again?”
The man—Dixon—smiled at the screen. He seemed quite affable. “Hey, nice to meet you. Call me Dix. Let me see if I can guess. You’re Richie Ryland and Max Henry.”
I probably didn’t hide my surprise very well. “How’d you know?”
He grinned. “I oversee a lot of things here at CrossBow. Dr. Malone had this on his schedule, so Mr. Kennedy asked me to be sure he was ready.”
“And you couldn’t tell me I had shampoo in my hair?” Dr. Malone barked.
Dix shrugged. “I told you once, but you muttered something about being too busy to talk to me.” He smirked. “Besides, it makes your freckles stand out and it looked adorable. Sue me.”
Dr. Malone’s face went scarlet. “Did you need something?”
Dix grinned. “Just wanted to see you smile, sunshine,” he said, a western twang evident. I swear if the man had been wearing a cowboy hat, he would have tipped it. He nodded at the camera. “Nice to meet you.”
And then he was gone and I wished he’d been wearing spurs for some reason.
